East Bengal looking to come back to winning ways

Updated: 16 January 2012 19:23 IST

Currently ranked 2nd from the bottom of the table, the Pailan Arrows take on title contenders East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. East Bengal are presently on 27 points from 14 matches while Pailan have 7 points from 13 matches.

Written by Indo-Asian News Service

Read Time: 2 mins

Kolkata:

Currently ranked 2nd from the bottom of the table, the Pailan Arrows take on title contenders East Bengal at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. East Bengal are presently on 27 points from 14 matches while Pailan have 7 points from 13 matches.

The Arrows have a golden opportunity to score some unlikely points with East Bengal not in the best of form. Having drawn the previous match against Pune FC, the Red and Gold Brigade desperately need a win against Pailan. The last time the two teams met, the match ended in a goalless draw.

East Bengal's Coach Trevor Morgan said, "It is tough for any team to break down an opponent who prefers to play defensively. In our previous encounter Pailan looked like they would be satisfied with a point and they achieved it at the end."

In response, however, Sukhwinder Singh, the Technical Director of Pailan Arrows said, "In our previous encounter against East Bengal, we were under pressure and hence, couldn't attack. We did not go in with a defensive mind-set and even on Tuesday, we intend to play attacking football."

When asked about his team's inability to get a victory in the current I-League season, he added, "We are playing well as a team but are looking for that one moment of extraordinary brilliance which will win us our first match."

Luckily for Pailan, they don't have any injury worries. East Bengal on the other hand will be without Nirmal Chhetri who is injured. Saumik Dey will also sit out due to a suspension. They are likely to be replaced by Harmanjot Khabra and Robert Lalthalamuana.

Morgan wasn't willing to read much into East Bengal's last match against Pune FC which ended goalless. "We have created chances but haven't been able to convert them against Pune FC. I'm not worried at all," he quipped.

Meanwhile, Edmilson who replaced Alan Gow is unlikely to get a start against Pailan as Morgan intends to give him some time to settle down.